1. Field of Invention
This invention pertains to a circuit board standoff for mounting a circuit board to a chassis, the circuit board standoff employing a detent mechanism.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the prior art, it is well known to secure circuit boards in a computer or other electronic equipment in a parallel but offset position from the chassis of the computer. The devices, referred to as "standoffs", used to secure the circuit boards in this position must additionally ground the circuit board.
In the prior art, standoffs have included threaded members, such as screws or threaded rods, directed upward through the chassis and through unthreaded collars or sleeves. The circuit board, in turn, provided with mounting holes, are attached to the threaded members by nuts, and are separated from the chassis by a distance equal to the length of the collars or sleeves. A typical example of a threaded standoff which requires a separate screw for mounting is ITW Fastex.RTM. "Grounding PCB Support", formerly Fastex Part No. 8182-13-02.
The use of threaded attachment devices, such as screws, in the standoff increases the work required to install the standoffs and the circuit board.
The assignee of the present invention is the assignee of U.S. Pat. No. 5,707,244 entitled "Standoff Ground Connector" issued on Jan. 13, 1998 to Ronald Austin and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/799,110 filed on Feb. 11, 1997 entitled "Standoff Ground Connector" to Ronald Austin.